Visible Mantra Blog

Name this syllable...

2008-06-17T08:27:00.002Z

A reader recently sent in this image:

I'm a reiki master and found that the origins of the reiki symbols come from sanskrit. I managed to discover the correspondent syllables from two symbols but can't find for one of them. Can I please ask your assistance for that, please? Could you give me the name and the letter for that symbol?

The syllable is vai written in Chinese brush style Siddhaṃ. In Reiki it apparently symbolises 'light'. This is presumably because it is related to the seed syllable of Vairocana - "the illuminator".

Spelling Manjusri, and Devanagari

2008-06-15T21:27:00.004Z

Mafalda wrote in recently to ask about the spelling of the name Mañjuśrī and what it and the associated mantra look like in Devanāgarī. Here is my reply:

Manjusri the bodhisattva is spelt with a long final i (ie ī sometimes written ii) - mañjuśrī. Mañjuśrī in devanāgarī is मञ्जुश्री or मंजुश्री (i.e. maṃjuśrī - this is how you'd write it in Sanskrit, but it would still be pronounced the same because ṃ before j is assumed to be ñ).

The mantra (oṃ a ra pa ca na dhīḥ) is ओं अ र प च न धीः
Note this is oṃ not auṃ - generally speaking Buddhists use oṃ (short o sound) whereas Hindus use auṃ (long au). They sound similar, and nobody pronounces it as written anyway. Auṃ would be written either आं or ॐ

Do write to me if you have a question and I'll do my best to answer it.

Phonosemantics

2008-05-23T09:34:00.002Z

I've added an essay which introduces the subject of phonosemantics - the study of the way vocal sounds are meaningful. To my mind this is a very exciting area of linguistics which may provide insights into how and why mantras affect us. I serendipitously found Margo Magnus's Magical Letter website many years ago and almost instantly became fascinated with her research and it's conclusions.

There are a small number of linguists prepared to take the subject seriously and they are making slow progress in describing the phenomenon - an essential first step in understanding it! It is a minority interest, and progress is slow, because the major paradigm in operation in linguistics denies the possibility that individual syllables can bear meaning. Because it is held to be impossible, very few people are prepared to even examine and comment on the data. Such is the way of scientific revolutions!

Onmyoji - manga translation

2008-05-21T21:26:00.004Z

I've been working with Patrick Honnore on transliterating some Siddhaṃ mantras in a manga comic called Onmyoji. It is well known in Japan and has even featured in two feature films, but this will be the first translation into a European language (French). It's work in progress and quite fascinating as the mantras appear to be genuine mantras. However in some cases I've not been able to identify the mantra. I'll post them here and would like to hear from anyone who can identify them.

oṃ pa dmo dbha vā ya svā hā
oṃ śu ri ma ri ma ma ri ma ri śu śu ri svā hā
oṃ a mṛ to dbha va hūṃ pha ṭ svā hā (I think this is a Hayagrīva mantra)

Ring any bells?

Reading

2008-05-08T16:30:00.003Z

The new page of readings on mantra begins to fill the gap on the theory of mantra. I present material from the scholarly literature on mantra, making the abstruse more accessible (I hope). There are now two essays on the reading page:

What is mantra? - an overview of Buddhist mantra which looks at mantra use in different contexts: Tantric ritual, Mahāyāna ritual, and informal.
On the etymology of the word 'mantra' - this essay presents both historical and traditional etymologies of the word mantra, and incidentally adds to the definition of what mantras are.

Some additions are already planned. In particular I want to re-present my original Wikipedia article on Phonosemantics - the study of how sounds affect meaning - which fell foul of academic orthodoxy some time ago. This is an exciting area for anyone interested in understanding how and why mantras 'work'.

Facebook

2008-05-06T21:07:00.003Z

If you are into Facebook then I've started a Visible Mantra page there. Don't know what use it is except to help promote the website. It does have a discussion board where we might exchange views. I meet precious few other calligraphers so I'm hoping that others will de-lurk and make contact.

Mañjuśrī and Arapacana

2008-05-05T23:34:00.003Z

I've rejigged the info relating to Mañjuśrī and Arapacana. I wanted to add some Mañjuśrī mantras and this would have made his page a bit unwieldy. So I have split off the material that relates only to the Arapacana alphabet onto a new page. I've added the Vagiśvara mantra, and one that I discovered recently on Glenn Wallis's website which is also related to Mañjuśrī's role as Lord of Speech. So now there are three pages to consult:

Mañjuśrī and Mañjughoṣa - material relating to the mantra of the Bodhisattva
The Arapacana Alphabet and it's history
Meditating on the Wisdom Alphabet with reference to the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra

Om Mani Padme Hung

2008-04-24T21:40:00.001Z

Om Mani Padme Hung
Originally uploaded by kaito_do

Another outstanding find on Flickr! This is a three script version of oṃ manipadme hūṃ: dbucan, 'brutsha, dbumed (ie Uchen, Drutsa, and Ume). I've got to start making some seals!

Redecorating

2008-04-22T10:05:00.004Z

I finally got bored with all the green on Visible Mantra and have opted for basic black in the new colour scheme, with red drop capitals. The latter are inspired by the red seals Nathaniel Archer uses in his calligraphy. I keep thinking I must have a go at making some...

I'm also slightly rejigging the menu (which is time consuming because I use stone age technology to create VM) and have renamed a couple of the pages to better reflect what they are about. There is a new section of reading material. I have been working on some background material for the site which I think will fill a gap for anyone who is interested in Buddhist mantra.

Names

2008-04-19T14:49:00.004Z

I've now completed a project to add calligraphy of the names for all of the deity mantra pages, and other figures with Sanskrit names. At the same time I've updated a few of the less elegant mantras (my calligraphy has improved somewhat since I set this site up). Do take the time to revisit pages you may be familiar with to see what's new.

Acala Vidyārāja - Fudō Myōō (不動明王)

2008-04-15T06:52:00.004Z

The latest addition to Visible Mantra is a page for Fudō. Fudō is a wrathful manifestation of Mahāvairocana who acts as a messenger and protector. He is one of a group of Vidyārājas. Vidyā is sometimes used as a synonym for "mantra" in Tantric Buddhism, though it's basic meaning is knowledge (the word is related to the Sanskrit Veda), and it is often used to connote magical or esoteric knowledge. A Vidyārāja then, is king of esoteric knowledge especially of mantra. Fudō is one of the thirteen principal deities of the modern Shingon School.

I have to admit I'm not very familiar with this character as he does not figure in the Western Buddhist Order to any great extent. I'm drawing entirely on Shingon sources for this mantra, but especially the Shingon "Handbook for Followers" by Abbot Yusei Arai.

My brush is "this" big!!!

2008-04-10T16:02:00.001Z

Jisen, calligraphy retreat, Upaya Zen Center
Originally uploaded by Upaya

I absolutely love this! My calligraphy is usually small because I use pens up to 6mm wide. Calligraphy on this scale is a totally different aesthetic - you can step right inside this.

dhīḥ

2008-04-09T14:56:00.001Z

dhih
Originally uploaded by jayarava

I've been uploading a few examples of my calligraphy to Flickr. This one is a dhīḥ the seed syllable of prefect wisdom - follow the link for more details. On Flickr I've created a group for Buddhist Calligraphy and invited a number of others to contribute - only 2 have responded but I'm hoping to attract more interest.

[국보 75호] 표충사청동함은향완

2008-04-07T21:31:00.001Z

[국보 75호] 표충사청동함은향완
Originally uploaded by liscell

If you look carefully you can see a Siddhaṃ letter on the side of this goblet, and another jsut out of view on the left (but clearly with the nada-bindu anusvāra). Another example of Korean Siddhaṃ - which means that those people who say it only exists in Japan these days are looking increasingly wrong.

Bablefish.com translates the title as: "[ 75 national treasures ] ticket insect company bronze box direction wan". (It appears in Google many times so the origin is doubtful).

Mani Stone

2008-04-05T14:54:00.001Z

DSCN0044_2 copy.jpg
Originally uploaded by spaceman347

There is a Flickr Group called Mani Stones which is devoted to photo's of mani stones. A small selection of photo's but some very nice examples.

Introduction to Siddham Calligraphy

2008-04-05T09:50:00.004Z

Buddhist Calligraphy is a spiritual practice that can be very rewarding in itself - it combines mindfulness, meaningful action, and aesthetic appreciation. The experience itself can be uplifting and transformative especially when combined with reflections on the "meaning" of the letter being written. It is also useful for those who visualise mantras as familiarity with the forms makes for more vivid images.

This class will provide an introduction to the Siddham script. Beginning with the seed-syllable 'a' we will explore the basic methods for creating beautiful calligraphy. A small class means plenty of individual attention and means that you can learn at your own pace.

Lead by Jayarava
All materials provided - no experience necessary
Limit 8 people - booking essential

Cambridge Buddhist Centre
5th April 2008
10am – 12 pm

cost: £15/10 - I will cover my costs and the rest goes to the Cambridge Buddhist Centre.

Updates

2008-03-31T20:08:00.002Z

I've updated the Prajñāpāramitā and Śākayamuni pages with some extra info, and fixed a number of typos.

Four Great Kings

2008-03-20T08:46:00.005Z

I have added a page for the Four Great Kings after finding some mantras for them in the reference book Bonji Taikan. Because I don't read Japanese I can't say what the source of these mantras is, but it won't be the Mahāvairocana Sūtra where the mantras do not begin with oṃ, but with namaḥ samanta buddhānaṃ.

I have been interested in the Kings -Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Virūḍhaka, Virūpākṣa, and Vaiśravaṇa - since my ordination retreat when we carried out rituals involving them. The kings are not originally Buddhist and still show signs of their origins in Indian folk religion, as well as influences from Brahminism. However they must has been widely popular even at the time of the Buddha because they make frequent appearances in the Pāli Canon. They are devas from the lowest devaloka, and are therefore the closest to the human realm. As kings they are lords over the various chthonic spirits such as yakṣas, nāgas, kumbhāṇḍas, and gandharvas that inhabit the Buddhist mythic landscape.

I hope to do more thorough research on the kings in the future. The fact that there are mantras to these, and other Vedic/Hindu gods (such as Agni, Indra, and Śiva) is a very interesting facet of esoteric Buddhism.

Meditating on Arapacana

2008-03-15T14:15:00.003Z

I've added a page which pulls together some of the information on the Arapacana as a meditation practice, particularly the relevant passages from the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra in Conze's translation. These give a general idea of how the verses might have been used as a meditation, and I have used them to reconstruct a meditation on śunyata - links on the page.

Vajrasattva Mantra Audio

2008-03-14T20:57:00.003Z

A few people now have asked me if I'll do some audio for Visible Mantra. So I've started with the most popular mantra on the site : the hundred syllable Vajrasattva Mantra. My Sanskrit pronunciation is not perfect by any means, but you get the idea. I've also done it chanted FWBO style, although this is not as straight-forward as it might be because there is now more than one version. This is my preferred version with (an attempt at) accurate Sanskrit pronunciation, correcting the mispronunciations that have crept into due to transmission. This is one good thing about preserving the tradition in writing - even if pronunciation shifts one can still here how it sounded at the time when it was written down. This is still not guarantee of perfection due to what the scholars call "scribal error" but it is helpful especially when the mantra gets transmitted through non Indo-European speaking cultures such as Japan and Tibet.

Anyway have a listen and see what you think. Feel free to comment. Any requests?

Bonji taikan

2008-03-14T19:48:00.006Z

Today I discovered a most amazing reference book in the Cambridge University Library. Although the text is mostly in Japanese the rest is in Siddhaṃ and Romanised Sanskrit. It is nothing less than a complete calligraphy manual for Siddhaṃ including what looks like every possible combination of consonants (more than 100 pages of them!). It also includes many mantras which look to have come from the Mahāvairocana Sūtra, and other examples of Siddhaṃ, particularly grave markers. I'd say that John Stevens must have consulted this book in writing Sacred Calligraphy of the East because many of the letter charts look identical to what he gives. What a boon! I learned things just by leafing through it and I'm looking forward to giving it a more thorough going over.

Title:	Bonji taikan ( 梵字大鑑).
Published:	Tôkyô : Meicho Fukyûkai, 1983.5.
Description:	2satsu ; 27cm.
ISBN:	4895511154

Amazon Japan are clocking it at ¥ 69 660 which Google tells me is UK£ 336.57. Thank goodness for libraries is all I can say.

Siddham in Tricylce Magazine

2008-03-13T17:52:00.004Z

The Spring 2008 issue of Tricycle Magazine has an article by David Schneider on the Siddhaṃ script. If you are an online subscriber you can also read it online. David Schneider has his own art website, with some attractive calligraphy and some designs that have clearly been photoshopped.

Fonts and Keyboards

2008-03-11T11:20:00.003Z

As I keep saying: diacritics matter. If anyone is interested I picked up a self-installing version of the official Windows Times Unicode font recently. I've also created a keyboard map so that I can type diacritic characters in Firefox and Notepad - it's very handy. It comes as a zip file with an installer and some instructions on how to install and activate it.

Times Ext Roman font
Indic Keyboard Map

If anyone is really keen to have one I could do a US keyboard map - leave a comment.

Questions

2008-02-29T08:38:00.003Z

Douglas wrote in recently to ask for help...

I'm studying an alpha chart of Sanskrit in what I believe to be the Siddham Script. The first letter box (a) has a picture of what looks like a pomegranate.

Does "pomegranate" translate into a word that starts with the letter"a" in Sanskrit? Something like "anara"?

I replied:

The script is plain-old Devanagari I'm afraid, not Siddham. But you have read it correctly. The word is anāra and it is the name for pomegranate in Hindi.

The Sanskrit word for pomegranate is dāḍima, दाडिम

Tattoos are dumb

2008-02-24T09:01:00.003Z

I regularly get emails that go something like this (a recent real example):

i've been planning to get a tattoo of a few words in pali. obviously, i want to make sure i get the translations right and provide the artist with accurate calligraphy.

I'll leave this person's name out of it to save them some embarrassment because I think this is plain stupid. Why have something that you do not understand, in a language you do not speak, in a script you do not read or write, marked on your body for the rest of your life? I fail to see any possible benefit in this kind of action. I especially fail to see how this could possibly be spiritually beneficial as personal adornment is just venial and shallow.

The person above could spend a few pounds/dollars on Warder's Introduction to Pali and within a few months of study find themselves reading Pali texts in Roman script. Now that would be a good use of time and money! Pali is not a difficult language to learn (as these things go) and reading the texts in the original is quite rewarding. The Vipassana Research Institute give away the entire Burmese edition of the Pali Canon plus commentaries and para-canonical literature on CD, and on the web. The Sri Lankan Tipitika is also largely available online. The more ambitious could learn the traditional Burmese, Sri Lankan, or Thai scripts that the manuscripts are preserved in. The Buddhists reading this could even try to practice what they read which is of course the most beneficial thing to do.

In sum let me reiterate that I think tattoos are dumb, and that having a tattoo that you don't understand and can't read is doubly dumb. Please don't ask me to help with tattoos.